Instagram Story Vs Post Which Should You Use?

Let’s take a look at the differences between Story Vs Post and which one is better for achieving specific goals. If you have a great photo and want to post it on your brand’s Instagram account. But you must choose between Post, Story, Reel, or Live before you can upload it. It can’t be Reel because it’s not video, and it’s not live either. But should you choose an Instagram story or post?

Key differences between Instagram Story Vs Post

Before we get into the marketing details, these are the main differences between the two types of Instagram uploads:

• Instagram Stories appear at the top of the Instagram app while posts appear in your followers’ feeds.
• Instagram Story photos and videos are temporary and only last for 24 hours, while Instagram posts are permanent and reside on your profile. Some users preserve Stories (theirs and other people’s) by adding them to their highlights and thus making them permanent.
• Instagram posts are permanent. This means that they will remain in your profile grid forever unless you delete them. Posts tend to get more views and likes over time as people review your profile, so uptake may be greater. These can also contribute significantly to your web traffic.
• Instagram Stories offer interactive features like polls, questions, and quizzes. Currently, shares do not have these features.
• Posts can have very long captions of up to 2,200 characters. We didn’t say you have to write an article about your posts, but you can if you want to! Remember, it is truncated at 125 characters. You can also use more hashtags in your post.

About Instagram posts

Since Instagram posts last forever, they have a wider reach than Stories. They also facilitate better conversations and interactions with followers that can happen over time. Although interactive features like polls, questions, and quizzes are not available, they still offer different content options. This includes a carousel, videos, and individual photo posts. You can also add filters and modern music.

So when should you choose the Instagram Post option?

Increase brand awareness

You should use flyers that outline business milestones, important company events, and key brand information.

Team photos

Your profile visitors will love seeing team photos in your grid of posts. They keep your company authentic and put faces to your brand. Always make sure you get permission from individuals before posting team photos.

Product information

Basic product manuals, product information, and tutorials should remain in the publications. It would be useful for users to be able to search for them, even years after they were published.

About Instagram Stories

Each area of Instagram has a different algorithm that finds and presents content uniquely. The Instagram Stories algorithm prioritizes content from the accounts you interact with the most. This depends on how often you view an account’s story (and for how long), whether you interact by commenting, liking, or sharing, and your overall interaction with that user. Because of their short lifespan, Stories are more about instant sales, views, or engagement than lifetime brand awareness.

When using Instagram Stories, take some time to learn about its effects and features. You can always experiment while you’re still in draft mode. Experiment with layered images on video, change text to match your brand colors, add a link sticker and add GIFs and filters. You should also think about the purpose of the story. Aim to create a beginning, middle, and end to your stories.

When to use Instagram Stories

Breaking and timely news

Stories only last for 24 hours, so they’re suitable for breaking news or timely updates. A recent example of this is the lost submarine voyage of the Titanic in June 2023. Viewers were desperate for updates about the stricken submarine, and with news moving so quickly, stories were ripe for urgent updates. The popular news channel CNN uses stories to show the latest daily news. With multiple posts in each story sequence, users can click on anything that interests them or just get an overview of breaking news items.

Post quick updates

Celebrities and TV personalities often use Instagram Stories to denounce, make a confession, or issue a statement.

Remember: Just because Stories only last for 24 hours, doesn’t mean your screenshots won’t last forever. Users can take a screenshot of everything you write on social media and share it later!

Sales discounts

Want to impress your Instagram followers with a sale or special offer? Instagram Stories is the way to do this. And because they don’t last long, we know the sale won’t last either.

You can take advantage of all the story tools to run quiz-based contests, link to discounts or sales and spark your promotion. Unlike posts, you can add links to your Instagram Stories using stickers and arrows to emphasize the link. Stories are great for sales because you don’t need to delete the post later when the sale ends.

If you want to showcase new products while also keeping them active, you can highlight them.

Take the time to name and design your highlights so you can add stories to a specific highlight and save them for later. This also makes groups easier for visitors to find.

How to organize Instagram stories

1. Schedule your Instagram content
2. Check your top Instagram posts by selecting your Instagram account in reports, setting the time frame and hitting Content. You can do the same for stories too!
3. In addition to the usual reach, comments, likes, saves and engagement metrics, if you track your links and link your Google Analytics account, you can view: unique clicks, goal completion, goal value, transactions, and revenue generated. This is a big win for social media managers who increasingly need to report to stakeholders.
4. Pre-schedule your stories to coincide with a launch day, special event or promotion. By scheduling an appointment in advance, you can ensure that your content, graphic design, and videos are planned and executed to perfection!

In conclusion

Both Instagram Story Vs Post can have a place in your social media strategy. Some brands may have more content to add to stories than a brand that just does what they want without much fanfare. It’s important to remember your social branding strategy.